Defence Ministers confirmed this week that despite further announcements of redundancies in the armed forces, the Gurkhas will continue to play a vital role Britain’s military operations. This is an issue we have pressed continuously through the largest review of our defence requirements since the early 1990s. We are all proud of the outstanding commitment and achievements of the Gurkhas in Afghanistan. They are our home regiment in Folkestone and part of our community; and will remain so for years to come. Again, the recent review by Defence Estates, whilst planning to close some barracks and training facilities elsewhere in the country, has confirmed that the Royal Gurkha Rifles will continue to be based here at Shorncliffe. The latest announcement of redundancies in the armed forces will mean a reduction of Gurkha posts of about 5%, in line with savings being made elsewhere in the army. Most of the redundancies are being taken voluntarily, and all ex-Gurkhas will also have the right not only to stay in the UK, but also to apply to join the military reserves.
Any reductions are something to regret, and are in part a result of the need to make savings right across government. However, in a changing world we also need to review our defence requirements. We are investing in new aircraft carriers and equipment to support deploying our forces around the world. Additional resources have been found to combat the new threat of cyber terrorism, a form of attack which is very real, but which didn’t exist as a threat twenty years ago. Next year our troops will be home from Afghanistan, and we are also bringing back the rest of our forces from their bases in Germany. Whilst there will always be requests for British support to protect people from terror and oppression, this has more recently been provided in the case of Libya and Mali in the form of intelligence, equipment and air support, rather than ‘boots on the ground.’ Indeed, the debate over our help for the Syrian rebels fighting for freedom from the oppressive regime of President Assad is focused on providing more of this kind of external support.
Whilst we will always need to review the requirements for our armed forces for the future, it is also important that we honour their sacrifices in the past. As Chairman for the last six years of the Step Short project in Folkestone, we have been working to mark the role the town played as the place of embarkation to and from the western front for over 10 million soldiers during the First World War. We are raising money to build a memorial arch on The Leas, over the route taken by the soldiers marching to the harbour, and we hope to complete this shortly, to allow work to start on this project in time for the centenary commemorations in August 2014. Our project has also received significant interest from the Government, and last week, along with Ann Berry and Paul Emden, I attended a meeting at 10 Downing Street to present our plans to the Prime Minister’s advisors on the First World War centenary. I believe we have the opportunity to create something next summer which will be a fitting and lasting tribute to the sacrifices of the soldiers, and put Folkestone on the map as a major centre for these important national commemorations.